= Mantle convection
{wiki}
<Mantle convection> is buoyancy-driven motion in a rocky <planetary mantle>. Heating and cooling create <density> differences; chemical and mineral-phase differences can also affect buoyancy. Although the mantle is mostly solid, deformation by <material creep> permits slow flow over geological time.
A simple model balances viscous resistance with buoyancy and transports heat by both flow and <thermal conduction>. Its <Rayleigh number> compares those effects. Temperature-dependent <mantle viscosity> and the strength of the <lithosphere> help determine whether the surface moves as plates or remains a <stagnant lid>. Seismic structure, surface deformation and heat flux constrain different parts of this model.
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